Soils of the eastern United States and their use-- IX. The Miami clay loam

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Issued August 8, 1911.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF SOILS— CIRCULAR No. 36.

MILTON WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau.

SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE— XIV.

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM.

JAY A. BONSTEEL,

Scientist in Soil Survey.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1911.

BUREAU OF SOILS.

Milton Whitney, Chief of Bureau.
Albert G. Rice, Chief Clerk.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

Frank K. Cameron, in charge of Physical and Chemical Investigations..
Curtis F. Marbut, in charge of Soil Survey.
Oswald Schreiner, in charge of Fertility Investigations.
2

SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE— XIV.

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The Fargo clay loam is an extensive and important type of soil
which, because of the mode of its formation, is restricted within
rather narrow geographical limits. It is the most extensive single
type of soil which has been encountered in the Glacial Lake and
Terrace soil province, and a total area of 601,024 acres has been in-
cluded in six different soil surveys made in the States of Minnesota,
North Dakota, and South Dakota. The type owes its origin to the
extensive deposition of fine-grained lake sediments in the bed of the
old glacial Lake Agassiz, which occupied an extensive territory along
the boundaries of the present States of North Dakota and Minnesota.
It is also found in the glacial Lake Souris farther west in North
Dakota, and in the similar glacial Lakes Dakota, in South Dakota,
and Minnesota along the Minnesota River in southern Minnesota.
In addition to its occurrence in the beds of these larger extinct glacial
lakes, it is encountered in a multitude of smaller glacial lakes within
the area of these three States. The type is also known to extend
through central Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan in the Domin-
ion of Canada. In fact, it is probable that the most widespread de-
velopment of the soil type is to be found north of the Dominion line
in these Provinces.

In all of these localities the Fargo clay loam constitutes the great
spring-wheat soil of the Northwestern States and the western Cana-
dian Provinces.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL AND SUBSOIL.

The surface soil of the Fargo clay loam is a deep, dark-brown to
black clay loam containing a perceptibly large quantity of organic
matter. This surface soil has a depth varying from 12 to 24 inches
in the various areas where the type is encountered. In the slight de-
pressions found within the type the surface material is often mucky
and of an intense black color to a depth of 4 to 8 inches. The subsoil
is in all cases a heavy silty clay or clay which not infrequently has a
definitely stratified structure. It varies materially in color, dependent

100240°— Cir.36 11 3

4 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

chiefly upon the condition of the subsoil drainage. In the better
drained areas it is usually grayish brown or gray or drab, while at
greater depths and in localities where the drainage is poor the subsoil
is of lighter drab or bluish color.

It is a marked characteristic of the Fargo clay loam, wherever it
has been encountered, that the subsoil is highly calcareous. A large
number of determinations of calcium carbonate have been made in
connection with the study of this soil type, and in the majority of
cases the calcium carbonate content of the subsoil of the Fargo clay
loam has ranged from 3£ to as high as 24 per cent. This is unusually
high when compared with the lime content of other soils and subsoils.

This characteristically calcareous subsoil distinguishes the Fargo
clay loam from the black soils of the Clyde series, while the Fargo
clay loam is distinguished from the dark-colored soils of the Wash-
burn series, in that the latter contain considerable quantities of stone,
while the soils of the Benoit series are underlain by a substratum of
gravel. The Fargo clay loam is distinguishable from the Carrington
black clay loam through the fact that it occupies the beds of extinct
glacial lakes of some size, while the Carrington black clay loam con-
sists of an accumulation of dark-colored surface material overlying
glacial till which frequently constitutes the subsoil of that type.

SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE.

In all areas where it has been encountered the topography of the
Fargo clay loam is marked by the almost level character of the land
surface. The slopes within the area of this type are usually not
greater than 2 or 3 feet to the mile, while the greater proportion of
its area possesses a slope not in excess of 1 foot to the mile. In the
areas of- its broadest development, such as the Red River Valley of
the North, the surface of the Fargo clay loam and of its associated
types in the Fargo series is generally so level that one is reminded of
the surface of a vast body of water, like the sea. In traveling across
such regions the surface of the plain is visible only for a distance of
3 or 4 miles. It is bounded by a straight horizon which seems to rise
around the position occupied bjr the observer like the rim of a saucer.

High buildings, such as grain elevators, and the tops of houses and
of grain stacks are first visible, and finally the entire structure comes
gradually into full view as it is approached. In spite of this almost
absolutely level appearance of the surface of the Fargo clay loam,
there are minor low undulations and swells interspersed with shallow
depressions and broad level areas which give a slight diversity to the
surface features of the type, and which aid materially in the natural
drainage of a portion of its extent.

The major streams, particularly the Red River of the North, have
cut channels into the bed of the extinct glacial lake to a depth of 20

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM. 5

to 50 feet. These are bordered only by a few narrow areas of bot-
tom land, while the banks of the rivers usually rise steeply to the
adjoining plain. The tributaries to the major streams also occupy
steep-banked channels and are themselves joined by coulees and gul-
lies which constitute the off-flow channels of the surface water. Be-
tween the larger drainage lines there often exist areas 5 to 15 miles
wide which are unmarked by any water course. The highest parts
of these divides are commonly not more than 3 to 5 feet above the
lower areas.

In elevation above tide level there is a narrow variation be-
tween the different areas occupied by the Fargo clay loam. The
lowest points undoubtedly lie along the boundary line between the
United States and the Dominion of Canada at an altitude of about
!>75 feet above tide. The highest altitudes within the area of the
Glacial Lake Agassiz rise to about 1,100 feet at its southern termina-
tion in the vicinity of Lake Traverse. The altitudes of the smaller
areas of the type, in the scattered minor glacial lakes of southern
Minnesota and of South Dakota, are quite variable, but usually range
from approximately 1,000 feet to less than 1,200 feet above sea level.
There is thus a marked uniformity in altitude and in the surface
topography of all portions of the type, with very little pronounced
relief and with practically no change of climatic environment due to
differences in altitude or topography.

The drainage of the Fargo clay loam is frequently defective. The
natural drainage is well established only in the immediate vicinity of
the water courses and upon the crests of undulating divides between
these courses. The broad stretches of nearly level prairie which
occupy a considerable proportion of the territory covered by the
Fargo clay loam are decidedly defective in drainage, not only be-
cause of their level nature and infrequency of water courses, but also
because of the stiff, moisture-retaining character of both the surface
soil and subsoil, accentuated in many instances by abundant accumu-
lations of organic matter through the deep surface soil.

Erosion is not a serious problem over any considerable proportion
of the type. It is only along the margins of the deeper cut stream
channels and around the head waters of the coulees, which form
the principal tributaries, that active erosion is in progress. Never-
theless, some difficulty has been encountered in the establishment of
open ditches to perfect the natural drainage of the Fargo clay loam
through the deep cutting of drainage waters, accompanied occa-
sionally by the caving of the banks. Slight precautions in the estab-
lishment of gradas of such ditches and in the protection of the banks
of natural drainage ways will be entirely adequate to counteract this
tendency.

6 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

LIMITATIONS IN USE.

It is probable that the chief restriction upon the agricultural uses
of the Fargo clay loam are the limitations of climatic environment
and of natural drainage conditions. Otherwise the type is well suited
to the growing of the majority of the general farm crops, whose
production is favored by the retentive clay loam texture of the sur-
face soil and by the presence of adequate amounts of organic matter.

The greater proportion of the Fargo clay loam is developed in
northern areas within which the short growing period of the summer
months is inadequate for the production of Indian corn, especially
of those varieties which are common to the more southern prairie
States. The climatic conditions, coupled with the level character of
its surface and the somewhat poorly established natural drainage,
also prevent the growing of the winter grain crops, like rye and
winter wheat. On the other hand, the summer-grown small-grain
crops are produced to unusual advantage upon this type of soil, and
it is also an excellent soil for the production of many of the tame
grasses.

Because of the fine texture of both the surface soil and subsoil and
of the level character of the land, practically no tree fruits find a
favorable environment upon the Fargo clay loam.

Thus the type is practically limited through its climatic surround-
ings, its drainage characteristics, and its textural peculiarities to the
production of the summer-grown small grains and to the growing of
grasses. Aside from these, flax constitutes one of the most important
crops.

IMPROVEMENT IN SOIL EFFICIENCY.

It is probable that no one thing would have so marked an effect in
increasing the yields of the crops now grown upon the Fargo clay
loam as the installation of proper systems of drainage. The heavy
rainfall during the early spring months not infrequently covers the
more level portions of the type with a shallow sheet of standing water,
which finds egress neither through natural surface drainage channels
nor by means of percolation downward through the soil and subsoil.

This prevents the growing of any winter grain crops and interferes
with the production of grasses, since both would be smothered by the
presence of the standing water. It also necessitates the fall and
winter plowing of a considerable proportion of the area of the
Fargo clay loam, since the poorly drained areas remain covered by
water sufficiently late to prevent spring plowing in time for seeding.

In some instances drainage districts have been formed, both in
North Dakota and in Minnesota, and large main drainage ditches have
been dug, some of them many miles in length, in order to carry off
this surplus water. In a few instances, also, tile drainage systems

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM. 7

have been established tributary to these ditches in order still further to
improve the internal drainage of the soil and subsoil. None of these
latter installations have been in place for a sufficient period of time
to demonstrate fully the beneficial effects of tile drainage for the
Fargo clay loam. It may be said, however, that such installation of
proper systems of tile, not only on the Fargo clay loam, but also upon
other soils of this general class has been demonstrated to be followed
by increases in crop yields amounting to 25 or even 50 per cent above
the yields secured upon areas not thus treated. The beneficial effect
of the tile drain is most evident during seasons of excessive rainfall,
when crops are practically ruined upon areas of inadequate drainage,
while a fair to a good crop is produced where the open ditches and
supplementary systems of tile have been installed. Even in years
of normal rainfall, when the undrained soils produce their best yields,
the tile-drained fields are also found to produce slightly larger crops,
even though the yields are not so markedly superior as in years of
heavy precipitation.

Even smaller increases in crop production than those which have
been obtained through the tile drainage of the Fargo clay loam are
sufficient to pay a very high rate of interest upon the investment
involved. The additional consideration should also be held in mind,
that not only does tile drainage increase the crop year after year, but
in years of unusually heavy rainfall drainage alone makes the produc-
tion of any crop possible. The drainage of the Fargo clay loam
through the installation of tile is still in its initial stages, and there
remain a number of engineering problems to be solved with regard
to the best depth for the laying of the tile, the size of the tile to be
installed, and the frequency of interval at which the tile lines are
to be laid. The systems already installed have also developed the
fact that in certain instances the seemingly homogenous subsoil mate-
rial undoubtedly possesses local variations in the deeper subsoil which
give rise to inequalities of drainage not evident from any considera-
tion of surface slopes, or from the consideration of the texture of the
surface soil and shallow subsoil. Thus the adequate drainage of the
Fargo clay loam constitutes an intricate and difficult problem for the
drainage engineer, but a problem which is of vast importance in the
more diversified and more profitable occupation of very extensive
areas of this type.

Second only in importance to the perfection of drainage systems
upon the Fargo clay loam is the adoption of proper systems of crop
rotation. The wonderful natural fertility of this soil, its broad
expanse of level area, and its climatic surroundings all tended to
lead the pioneer farmer toward the adoption of a single small-grain
crop, spring wheat. In the earlier days this crop was seeded over
areas measured by the square mile, and was produced year after year

8 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

without the interposition of any other crop, or even the fallowing of
the land between the successive crops of wheat. As a natural and
inevitable result, yields began to decline after several years of this
system of cropping. Then some variation was brought about through
the introduction of flax and the seeding of small areas to the tame
grasses. The climatic difficulty attendant upon the production of
known varieties of corn prevented the adoption of the more rational
crop-rotation systems of the more southern prairie States, and even
yet the development of acclimatized varieties of corn of quick maturity
has not proceeded sufficiently far to justify the planting of any
large acreage of this crop in the more northern regions. As a result
there is still a lack of some valuable intertilled crop which may take
its place in a rational and systematic crop rotation upon the Fargo
clay loam. It is to be hoped that proper varieties of corn may be
developed for this latitude, in order that the adoption of this crop as
a definite part of the rotation may be made economically possible.

The greater proportion of the Fargo clay loam is adequately sup-
plied with organic matter in the surface soil, although those areas
marked by the lighter gray color, together with many square miles of
the type which have been exhaustively seeded to wheat for many
years in succession, would be decidedly benefited by the application
of all available organic manures. The increasing practice of seed-
ing in the tame grasses at some point in the rotation is to be recom-
mended in connection with the maintenance and restoration of or-
ganic matter in this soil. In fact, upon those areas where definite crop
rotation has been adopted, including the maintenance of a part of the
land in grass during a period of each rotation, the yields of grain are
being increased and the efficiency of the soil is being improved.

The use of any fertilizer upon this soil has only been attempted in
a few localities upon an experimental scale. The use of stable manure
is practically unknown, and the need for fertilization of any portion
of the type has only been felt within the last few years, after nearly
30 years of occupation for the practically continuous production of
one or two different grain crops. The wonderful natural fertility of
the Fargo clay loam is as well shown through these circumstance- as
through the yields of the crops which were produced in the earlier
days of its virgin state.

LIMITATIONS UPON SPECIAL CROPS.

The climatic limitation upon the production of crops practically
excludes the varieties of corn now known, except for production to a
limited degree, particularly for silage purposes. Many other crops
are excluded by the same factor of climatic environment. Others are
rendered undesirable by the level surface of the soil, by the somewhat
obstructed natural drainage, and by the heavy texture of both sur-

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM. 9

face soil and subsoil. Thus the Fargo clay loam can not be ranked
as a special crop soil, but takes its place as the dominant spring- wheat
soil of the northwestern region.

EXTENT OF OCCUPATION.

Throughout the entire Red River Valley and, in fact, in practically
all locations where it occurs nearly every acre of the Fargo clay loam
has been occupied for some agricultural purpose. Its level surface,
practically uninterrupted even by deeper drainage ways; its treeless
prairie condition ; and its deep surface soil of marked fertility all led
to its rapid occupation for grain production as soon as transportation
facilities for the disposal of the crop were provided in the decade
from 1870 to 1880. Even those areas which because of their ex-
tremely level surface and poorly established drainage have remained
in a semiswampy condition are occupied for the grazing of cattle and
for the cutting of wild marsh hay. With the increasing demand for
land in the general region, attention was turned to the artificial drain-
age of such areas, and many of them have now been brought under
more intensive occupation for the production of grain and the tame
grasses. Thus it may be said that practically the entire extent of the
Fargo clay loam is now occupied by farms, varying in size from 160
acres to many thousands of acres in the single holding. Any in-
creased development of the type must therefore take the direction of
more intensive cultivation rather than of more extensive occupation.
Probably 90 per cent of the entire area of the type is now occupied for
some agricultural use.

CROP ADAPTATIONS.

Spring wheat exceeds in acreage that of all other crops combined
in the extent of its production upon the Fargo clay loam; in fact,
it is the one crop of great importance. In the pioneer days the
previously unbroken prairie was plowed and sown to wheat. This
was the only crop grown, with the exception of a small acreage of
oats and barley used to feed the horses kept upon the farm. Taking
advantage of the natural productivity of the soil, wheat was grown
year after year without either careful preparation of the soil or any
crop rotation. In addition to the plowing of the land, which was
usually done during the fall and early winter months, the ground
was lightly harrowed just before seeding time in spring. In many
instances, however, the harrowing was omitted and the wheat was
sown directly on the plowed land.

At the present time much the same practice is followed, except that
the introduction of improved machinery has permitted deeper break-
ing of the land, and in practically all cases the soil is harrowed before
being seeded to the wheat.

10 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

Upon the majority of farms dominated by the Fargo clay loam the
gang plow, drawn by 4 to 6 horses, is in common use, while upon all
the larger or " bonanza " farms the steam traction engine is used to
haul gang plows for the turning of large areas of land each day.
Not infrequently the harrow is hitched behind the gang plow when
the traction engine is employed for preparing the soil. The grain is
then seeded upon the prepared land, and no further attention is
required until harvest time.

In harvesting the wheat a considerable diversity of practice exists
in the general region and over the area of the Fargo clay loam.
Upon the larger farms the header is used, and the grain is thrashed
as soon as possible by the use of heavy steam engines and large
separators with the stacking blower attached. Upon the smaller
farms the grain binder is sometimes used, and the grain is cured
in the shock. Generally it is thrashed directly from the shock, al-
though there is an increasing tendency to stack the grain prior to
thrashing. The latter practice is growing in favor, sinee it possesses
two principal advantages, in that the cost of thrashing is loss and
there is less loss of grain. Thrashing is either accomplished by
traveling " rigs," or by the use of machinery owned by some local
farmer or by a community.

The average wheat yields upon the Fargo clay loam vary to a con-
siderable degree with the amount of rainfall prior to and during the
growing season. Whenever the weather conditions -are such that a
considerable proportion of the plowing for spring wheat has been
accomplished during the preceding autumn, large acreages of the
crop are seeded and good yields are usually secured. On the other
hand, if rainy or other unfavorable weather has prevented, to some
degree, the plowing of the usual acreage devoted to wheat, the other
small-grain crops replace it to a considerable extent, and if the early
spring is, in addition, one of abundant or excessive rainfall, the wheat
yields are not infrequently decreased with the complete failure of
the crop upon areas of defective natural drainage. It is thus difficult
to measure the actual wheat-producing capacity of the soil through
a consideration of its yields for any short period of years, and it i-
impossible to ascertain its efficiency as a spring- wheat soil from the
consideration of the yields for a single year. In general it may be
said, however, that the average yield of spring wheat upon the Fargo
clay loam is about 15 bushels per acre, taking into consideration both
wide extent of area and considerable periods of time. The yields
range, however, from complete failure, or the production of 5 or 6
bushels per acre under adverse climatic conditions, to yields of 18 and
20 bushels per acre under more favorable circumstances and under
somewhat better methods of soil management. Better drainage and
the adoption of a regular crop rotation would undoubtedly inert

THE FAEGO CLAY LOAM. 11

both the acreage available for spring-wheat production and the aver-
age yields per acre.

Next to the acreage of spring wheat that of the wild grasses on
the unbroken prairie, occupying areas not sufficiently well drained
for crop production, constitutes the principal area, particularly in the
Red River Valley. The areas of wild grass are extensively used for
the pasturage of beef cattle, to a limited extent for the pasturage of
dairy cows, and to a considerable extent for the cutting of wild hay.
In practically all locations where poorly drained areas have remained
undisturbed since the first occupation of the region the native prairie
grasses and the wild marsh grasses still cover the ground. They
afford excellent pasturage and a fair hay crop of medium quality,
averaging from 1 ton to 1J tons per acre in the ordinary season. The
existence of these natural grazing areas in conjunction with much
larger tracts of arable land would seem to indicate the possibili-
ties of the Fargo clay loam for the establishment of the dairy in-
dustry and the production of beef cattle in the general region. In
fact, dairying has already gained a foothold upon the farms chiefly
occupied by the type in southern Minnesota and in South Dakota.
To a limited extent dairying is also being introduced upon the Fargo
clay loam in the Red River Valley section. There is an excellent
opportunity for its growth and extension.

Among the other crops produced upon the Fargo clay loam the
oat crop occupies the largest acreage. Barley is also an important
crop. Both oats and barley are frequently used as a catch crop when
the weather conditions have been unfavorable for the preparation of
the land for spring wheat. In case the land can not be put in shape
sufficiently early in the season for the production of that crop, a con-
siderable acreage is then devoted to oats and barley. The yield of
oats in all of the areas where the Fargo clay loam has been mapped
is fair, ranging from 25 to 40 bushels per acre, with an average yield
a little more than 30 bushels per acre. The yield of barley is also
good, ranging from 20 to 30 bushels per acre, with an average of
about 25 bushels. Flax constitutes another important crop, which is
grown principally for the production of seed, although in some
localities the fiber is also used. The acreage of flax is usually subor-
dinate to that of oats, although greater than that of barley. For the
production of flax new land is usually preferred, and the crop is
grown for two or three years in succession until a diminution in
yields results. It is then followed by wheat and the other grain
crops, while the freshly broken land is taken for the production of
flax. The yield per acre is quite variable, ranging from 5 or 6
bushels upon the older land to 12 or 15 bushels upon fresh land, with
an average of 10 or 11 bushels per acre for the entire area devoted to
this crop.

12 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

In all of the more northern locations where the Fargo clay loam is
developed the production of corn is entirely subordinate to the grow-
ing of other crops. In fact, only a few acres of corn are annually
raised in each of the counties where it occurs. The yields reported
are low, undoubtedly on account of the varieties which must be
grown in order to meet the climatic surroundings of the type, averag-
ing about 25 bushels per acre. In the more southern areas where
the growing season is longer, an increasing acreage of corn is being
planted each year, and with the development of varieties suited to
the climate and the soil, fair success is being attained with the crop.
Thus the yields upon the Fargo clay loam in southern Minnesota, in
South Dakota, and in the more southern areas in North Dakota
average 30 bushels per acre, with not infrequent yields of 35 to 40
bushels. In this connection it is important to state that even where
the growing season is inadequate to mature corn for grain produc-
tion, it is usually sufficiently long to mature the early varieties for
use in the silo. Consequently, with the adoption of dairying as one
of the more prevalent types of farming in the general section, it
would be possible to produce corn upon an increased acreage for
silage purposes. This method of development is of unusual impor-
tance, since the adoption of a rational crop-rotation system for the
Fargo clay loam requires the introduction of an intertilled crop at
some point in the rotation, and corn is probably the best hoed crop
for such purpose. Under the existing climatic conditions the Fargo
clay loam can probably never compete with prairie soils of more
southern location in the production of corn for grain, but it is pos-
sible to insure a good yield of silage each year for the feeding of
both cattle and dairy stock. The additional advantage to be derived
from the use of stable manures thus produced would clearly indicate
that the more extensive growing of corn for ensilage purposes and
- for the feeding of stock should be undertaken in the areas largely
occupied by the Fargo clay loam and the associated types of the Fargo
series,

Irish potatoes are grown to a limited extent upon the Fargo clay
loam. The acreage in each of the areas where soil surveys have
been made is limited almost entirely to that .required for the pro-
duction of a home supply, and only a small acreage is usually grown
upon those farms where the crop is produced at all. The soil type
in its normal condition is rather too stiff, too retentive of moisture,
and somewhat too difficult to work to constitute a desirable potato
soil. In spite of these unfavorable conditions the yields per acre
are fair to good, ranging from 85 bushels to 150 bushels or more
per acre, with an average in excess of 100 bushels per acre. If the
acreage of this crop is to be extended it should be upon the better
drained portions of the type and upon such portions as possess the

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM. 13

silty or mucky surface soil, which is more friable and less compact
than the general average of the type.

Practically no fruit crops are grown and the type is not well suited
to orcharding.

Garden vegetables for home use might be grown much more ex-
tensively upon the Fargo clay loam. The early varieties of sweet
corn, garden peas, cabbages, lettuce, radishes, and onions are all
suited to production upon this type, and upon the more mucky por-
tions the production of cabbages, onions, and celery upon a com-
mercial scale would be easily possible after proper tile drainage had
been installed.

Owing to the heavy surface soil and dense subsoil and to the
considerable undrained areas of the Fargo clay loam, clover is not
entirely successful upon this type. Artificial drainage, successfully
installed, would make clover production possible, and excellent crops
are now grown upon those portions of the type which are most
favored with natural drainage. The principal seeding to tame
grasses at the present time is to timothy, usually unmixed with any
other species. The calcareous nature of the subsoil would render
the Fargo clay loam an admirable type for the production of alsike
clover and the medium red clover where drainage was properly
provided. The former crop would undoubtedly be successful over
the best drained areas of the type as it exists.

FARM EQUIPMENT.

The Fargo clay loam is usually occupied by farms of considerable
area. A quarter section of 160 acres constitutes the usual unit in
the more closely settled areas, although a few 40's and 80's may be
found. In general, however, the single holding amounts to 320 acres
or more in the case of the individual farmer, and many farms of
8,000, 10,000, and even 15,000 acres, consisting principally of this
type, exist. In some areas, particularly in the more southern region,
where the Fargo clay loam is developed, these farms are fenced.
In the wheat-growing sections to the northward many of the farms
are not fenced at all, or inclosures are only made in the vicinity of
the farm buildings. Nearly every farm is improved by a dwelling
house and by barns and tool sheds adequate for housing the work
stock, the feed for such stock, and the more valuable tools. Horse-
power is principally employed in the tillage of this soil. Owing to
the large size of the farms, the level surface of the type, and the
custom of continuous grain growing, the smallest team usually con-
sists of four horses; the six-horse hitch is not infrequently used.
Upon the largest farms both plowing and harrowing are frequently
done by the use of the steam traction engine, and upon farms of all
sizes, large and small, gang plows are used for turning the soil. With
the steam power, heavy harrows of many sections are not infre-

14 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

quently hitched behind the gang plow, and both harrowing and
plowing are performed at a single operation. Where horsepower is
employed the harrow follows the plow with an independent hitch of
four to six horses. Seeding is accomplished by horse-drawn seeders,
and practically no other tillage of the crop is attempted. The header
or grain binder constitutes the principal grain-harvesting machine
upon each of the smaller-sized farms, while the larger farms in
addition also maintain the thrashing machine with blower attach-
ment. Many steam engines employed for thrashing the grain burn
the grain straw as their principal fuel.

Within later years disk plows and disk harrows are to some extent
displacing the gang plow and the spike-tooth or spring-tooth harrow.

Upon farms in the more southern areas where the Fargo clay loam
has been encountered, dairy barns and dairy equipment are also
found, and there is an increasing interest in the development of dairy
husbandry. In general, however, the type is devoted to grain growing
and preeminently to the production of spring wheat.

SUMMARY.

The Fargo clay loam is the great spring- wheat soil of the Ked River
Valley of the North and of certain other areas. It has been formed
in the beds of extinct glacial lakes.

The surface soil is a dark-gray to black, heavy loam, well sup-
plied with organic matter, and frequently somewhat mucky in char-
acter in depressed and poorly drained areas. The subsoil is a stiff
partially stratified clay loam which may be either dark-brown, drab,
or blue.

The surface of the Fargo clay loam is almost absolutely level over
large areas, having a slope of 1 foot to 2 feet to the mile in the ma-
jority of cases and an extreme slope of 5 to 6 feet to the mile. Low
undulations and swells are separated by broad level areas or slight
depressions. The higher lying tracts possess fairly good natural
drainage, while the level and depressed areas require the construction
of open ditches and the installation of tile drainage to be brought
under cultivation.

The altitude of the Fargo clay loam varies from about 975 feet
above tide on the Canadian boundary line in the valley of the Red
River of the North to altitudes lying between 1,100 and 1,200 feet
above tide in the more southern portion of the Red River Valley, and
in the separate areas where the type has been developed in other
smaller extinct glacial lakes.

The Fargo clay loam is developed under cool temperate condi-
tions of climate which preclude the production of certain general
farm crops prevalent upon more southern prairie soils, but which
favor the production of good yields of spring wheat of excellent mill-
ing quality.

THE FARGO CLAY LOAM. 15

Considerably more than one-half of the total of the cultivated area
of the Fargo clay loam is annually devoted to the growing of spring
wheat. The yields secured vary considerably with the climatic con-
ditions, principally with the amount of rainfall. In years of exces-
sive rain the yield may fall to an average of 5 or 6 bushels per acre
upon the poorly drained areas, while in years of normal rainfall the
yield is in the vicinity of 15 bushels per acre for all portions of the
type.

Wild hay is second in acreage only to wheat. An average of 1 ton
to 1\ tons per acre is cut under fairly favorable conditions.

Oats and barley constitute important crops to supplement spring
wheat, being sown when the climatic conditions are such that the
ground may not be prepared in time for the production of the wheat
crop. The yields of oats average about 30 bushels per acre; those of
barley a little more than 25 bushels per acre.

Owing to adverse climatic conditions only special varieties of corn
may be brought to maturity upon the Fargo clay loam, and the yields
of these varieties average about 25 bushels per acre. Corn for silage
purposes might well be grown upon the type, reaching maturity in
the short growing season characteristic of the latitude where the type
is developed.

Flax also constitutes an important crop, being grown almost exclu-
sively for the production of seed. The average yield is about 10
bushels per acre. Flax is grown principally upon newly broken
ground, while barley by contrast is usually sown upon ground which
has produced several crops of wheat or other grain.

Both dairying and stock raising for beef production have gained
some foothold upon the type, and dairying in particular might well
be developed as a profitable form of farm occupation for the Fargo
clay loam.

Heavy teams with the four or six horse hitch and even steam-power
machinery are extensively used upon the level surface of the great
grain fields constituting the principal tilled area of the type.

Supplementary artificial drainage and the adoption of rational
crop rotations are the most important improvements for the manage-
ment of this soil.

The Fargo clay loam is the dominant spring wheat soil of western
Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, being more universally devoted
to the production of this crop, it is probable, than any other soil type
in the United States.

Approved.

James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.
Washington, D. C., June 12, 1911.

APPENDIX.

The following table shows the extent of the Fargo clay loam in the areas
surveyed to this time.

In the first column is stated the particular survey in which the soil was
encountered, in the second column its extent of development in acres, and in the
third column the volume of the Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils, in which
the report upon the area may be found. Those desiring a detailed description
of tbe soil and of the general conditions which surround it in any particular
area may consult these volumes in almost any public library.

Areas of the Fargo clay loam encountered in the soil survey.

Survey.

Minnesota:

Blue Earth County

Crookston area . . .

Rice County

North Dakota:

Fargo area l

Richland County .
South Dakota:

Brookings area1 . .

Area of soil,

Year of
publication,

Field
Operations.

Acres.
23,936
320,640
24,832

74,880
113,280

1906
1906
1909

1903

1908

1903

16

1 Mapped as Miami black clay loam.

o

BS NRG?

1

2 :

3

4

5 i

b

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U. C. BERKELEY

1111 o31^6

JUL & ° "'w**

Ki :tlVEU

JUL 1 9 1996

CIRCULATION DB

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1
1

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELr
FORM NO. DD 19 BERKELEY, CA 94720

VC 6789

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